California State Senator Ricardo Lara,
an openly gay Democrat, has asked the California Bar Association to
investigate the attorney who proposed a ballot initiative calling for
the execution of gay people.

Matthew McLaughlin, a socially
conservative lawyer from Orange County, filed the ballot initiative
last month. His so-called Sodomite Suppression Act calls for the
execution of gay people by “bullets to the head or any other
convenient method.” It would also mandate a $1 million fine and/or
up to ten years in jail against anyone who distributes “sodomistic
propaganda” to minors.

Lara told the Bay
Area Reporterthat McLaughlin violated the California Bar's
code of conduct for attorneys when he filed the ballot initiative.

“Qualification to become a licensed
attorney not only includes educational requirements and an
examination, but also requires demonstrated 'good moral character,'”
Lara said. “The state bar's admissions rules on good moral
character include that those seeking admission to the bar demonstrate
respect and obedience for the law, and respect for the rights of
others and the judicial process.”

A Change.org
petition asking Craig Holden, president of the California Bar
Association, to disbar McLaughlin has received nearly 3,500
signatures in less than two weeks.

“It is disturbing and outrageous that
a lawyer admitted to the California State Bar would disgrace the
profession and the state,” the petition states. “This individual
is unfit to practice law. He should be immediately barred from
practicing law in California.”